THE EUROPEAN Union refused yesterday to mediate in the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, despite several of its eastern members suffering a drop in supply and amid warnings of more problems to come, writes Daniel McLaughlinin Budapest
Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, new EU presidency-holder the Czech Republic and Turkey, received less Russian gas than usual through pipelines crossing Ukraine, where state gas firm Naftogaz is in a dispute with Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom over alleged unpaid bills and the price of gas imports for 2009. Russia stopped pumping gas to Ukraine on New Year's Day.
Gazprom accuses Ukraine of defaulting on its fuel bills and illegally siphoning off gas intended for EU states. Naftogaz says it has paid for its 2008 fuel, will not accept a sharp increase in the price of gas this year, and claims Russia is now pumping too little gas to maintain pressure in the pipeline system.
"Naftogaz considers the actions of Gazprom as threatening the energy security of Ukraine and Europe, which could bring unpredictable consequences for the entire gas transit system of Europe," the Ukrainian company said in a statement, reiterating warnings from senior officials in Kiev.
"If the Russian side does not provide more gas than at the moment, then in around 10 days there could be very serious technical problems," said Bogdan Sokolovsky, chief energy adviser to Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko.
"In such conditions and in January temperatures, the system will automatically stop renewing pressure. In other words, we will have serious interruptions of transit via Ukrainian territory . . . and it will not be our fault."
Oleksandr Shlapak, a close aide to Mr Yushchenko, said the EU should show Russia that it could not use energy to intimidate countries that refuse to bend to its political or financial will.
"If Europe . . . does not help us get out of this situation, then it can expect a more aggressive position from Russia on gas and other issues," he said.
Russia also appealed to Brussels to intervene in the dispute, which mirrors a 2006 conflict that resulted in a halt in Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and a drop in deliveries to countries as far west as France, Italy and Germany.
"Given that Naftogaz is not allowing monitors engaged by Gazprom into its gas monitoring stations, we sent a letter to the European Commission with proposals for ensuring independent monitoring of volumes of gas transiting Ukraine," said Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov.
The EU - which depends on Russia for one-quarter of its gas - is reluctant to become embroiled in a dispute between major energy supplier Moscow and political ally Kiev, which have been at odds since the 2004 Orange Revolution brought pro-western leaders to power in Ukraine.
That reluctance is exacerbated by divisions in the EU over how tough a stand to take against the Kremlin - with Germany and Italy usually doveish, and Poland and the Baltic states particularly combative.
"We refuse to be part of the dispute, this a commercial dispute," said Czech deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra, whose country assumed the EU presidency on January 1st. The EU will hold an extraordinary meeting in Brussels today to address the crisis, and European foreign ministers will discuss it during an informal gathering in Prague on Thursday.
Some 80 per cent of the EU's Russian gas imports arrive in the bloc through pipelines that cross Ukraine. Most EU states, and Ukraine, say they have enough gas in storage to cover several months of disruptions.